A New Zealand mother and daughter team who run EndoAngels online support groups for women who suffer from endometriosis have started a petition on Change.org to request better care for girls and women who have endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a disease in which the type of tissue (endometrial tissue) that is usually confined to the lining of the uterus become established in other parts of the body, generally on the lining of the pelvic cavity or on organs in the area such as the bowel or ovaries. These colonies of misplaced endometrial tissue can bleed during menstruation, causing severe pain and potentially also causing scarring and other complications. Large colonies can form cysts.

The conventional medical treatments include drugs to manipulate hormone levels and surgery to remove lesions or cysts, or in some cases badly damaged organs (for example the uterus.).

Diagnosis of endometriosis is often delayed due to women’s complaints of painful periods being not being taken sufficiently seriously.

(Please note that parts of the article is quite technical; it was written by a TCM practitioner who specialises in gynecology and is intended to assist other TCM practitioners in treating women who have endometriosis as well as provide information for women looking for treatment opti0ns. At the time when the article was written, its author Rona Wang lived in NZ; she currently lives overseas.)